[retail] Forum Topics

Research from ecommerce solutions provider SellerDeck (which used to be known as Actinic Desktop) has revealed the top ten ecommerce turn-offs that online retailers need to avoid at all costs if they are to turn clicks into sales.  At the very top of the avoid list comes insecurity. …

While most eyes this week were trained on Las Vegas and the Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft was gearing up to speak with retailers at the [url=http://www.nrf.com/]National Retail Federation[/url]'s annual [url=http://events.nrf.com/annual2010/Public/MainHall.aspx?ID=5938&sortMenu=101000&exp=3%2f13%2f2009+10%3a07%3a54+AM]Conference and Expo[/url] in New York City running tomorrow through Tuesday. The company [url=http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2010/jan10/01-08nrf10ma.mspx]announced yesterday[/url] that it will be demonstrating new …

When Microsoft first announced their retail strategy back in February I wrote a post called [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry4030.html"]Microsoft Retail Strategy Doomed to Fail[/URL] and I haven't changed my view. Today,[URL="http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=3358"] it became clear[/URL] that in the face of all common sense they are continuing to push forward with this wrong-headed idea. Remember, …

This looks like it could get very interesting, very quickly. The online auction outfit, eBay, seems to be in the process of having something of a corporate clearance sale. There were stories circulating a couple of weeks back that [URL="http://www.itwire.com/content/view/24377/1231/"]Skype could be sold off[/URL], possibly back to the original owners, …

I saw a netbook at a discount chain store the other day that I want. It's an [URL="http://us.acer.com/acer/product.do?link=oln24g.redirect&changedAlts=&kcond5e.c2att92=843&CRC=2745306029"]Acer Aspire One[/URL]. It has 1GB RAM and a 160GB Hard Drive for $296. Awesome deal. The problem, at least for me, is that it comes standard with some whittled down version of …

Microsoft has been active lately, showing some signs of spunk. I reported last week that Steve Ballmer was going straight after Apple at the McGraw Hill Summit (as I wrote in [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry4155.html"]Ballmer Wastes No Words Going After Apple[/URL]). This week we see the release of an [URL="http://byronmiller.typepad.com/byronmiller/2009/03/new-microsoft-ad-goes-after-high-price-of-apple.html"]ad campaign comparing Apple …

You have to give Microsoft credit. They keep trying, even if what they are trying is copying Apple. This time they have announced they are going to open retail stores. Sound familiar? It should because it's what Apple has done so successfully with its Apple Store strategy. The problem Microsoft …

Some slivers of sunshine amidst the economic clouds today. First, retail sales are up for the first time in six months, perhaps signaling that consumers aren’t as bearish on the economy as President Obama appears to be. I like the President and certainly wish him success, but his mantra of …

After posting [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry3340.html"]5 Things I Wish Linux Had[/URL], I did some mulling and gathered comments from readers and compiled this additional list of items that I wish Linux had. I've also included one thing that I wish Linux didn't have. These are part of my 2009 Wishlist and are more …

According to an [URL="http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hVyPFIJPx8NKAzElk21Isx-zQxvgD8VAQTSG0"]Associated Press story[/URL] just hitting the wires, Wal-Mart is to stop selling computers running the Linux operating system after less than 5 months because, to quote Wal-Mart spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien "This really wasn't what our customers were looking for."

In the customer service game, perception is everything. It can spell the difference between a company recording its annual revenues in black ink or red. I read a story once in USA Today about a guy named John Barrier, who didn’t like the way a bank manager in Spokane, Washington, …